L esson
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*March 30 –April 5
(page 6 of Standard Edition)
The War Behind All Wars
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Rev. 12:7–9, Ezek. 28:12–15,
Isa. 14:12–14, Gen. 3:15, John 17:24–26.
Memory Text: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels
fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but
they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any
longer” (Revelation 12:7, 8, NKJV).
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f God is so good, why is the world so bad? How can a God of love allow
so much evil to exist? Why do bad things happen to good people? In
this week’s lesson, we will explore the agelong conflict between good
and evil. Beginning with Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven, we will examine
the origin of evil and God’s long-suffering in dealing with the sin problem.
God is a God of incredible love. His very nature is love (1 John 4:7,
8). All of His actions are loving (Jer. 31:3). Love can never be forced,
coerced, or legislated. Ellen G. White states it well when she writes,
“Only by love is love awakened.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 22. To deny
the power of choice is to destroy the ability to love, and to destroy the
ability to love is to eradicate the possibility of being truly happy. God
wins our allegiance by His love. He is dealing with the great controversy between good and evil in such a way that sin will never arise in
the universe again. God’s purpose is to demonstrate before the entire
universe that He has always acted in the best interests of His creatures.
Looking at the world through the lens of God’s love, in the light of the
great controversy between good and evil, reassures each of us that right
will triumph over wrong and will do so forever.
* Study this week’s lesson, based on The Great Controversy, chapters 29–30,
to prepare for Sabbath, April 6.
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S unday March 31
(page 7 of Standard Edition)
War in Heaven
Read Revelation 12:7–9. What does this passage reveal about the free-
dom existing in heaven and the origin of evil? When Lucifer rebelled,
in what ways could God have responded?
These verses describe a cosmic conflict between good and evil. Satan
and his angels warred against Christ and, eventually, were cast out of
heaven. It seems extremely strange that war would break out in such a
perfect place as heaven. Why did it happen? Did a loving God create
a demonic angel who initiated this war? Was there some fatal flaw in
this angel that led him to rebel? The Bible clearly explains the origin of
evil. It draws the curtain aside in this conflict between good and evil.
Compare Ezekiel 28:12–15 and Isaiah 14:12–14. What went on in the
mind of this angelic being called Lucifer that led to his rebellion?
God did not create a devil. He created a being of dazzling brightness
named Lucifer. This angelic being was created perfect. Included in his
perfection was freedom of choice—a fundamental principle of God’s
government, which runs by love, not coercion. Sin originated with
Lucifer in heaven itself. There is no logical explanation why this perfect
angel should have allowed pride and jealousy to take root in his heart
and grow into rebellion against his Creator.
Lucifer, a created being, desired the worship that belonged only to
the Creator. He attempted to usurp God’s throne by questioning God’s
authority. His rebellion led to open warfare in heaven.
Although God bore long with Lucifer, He could not allow him to spoil
heaven with his rebellion. “The heavenly councils pleaded with Lucifer.
The Son of God presented before him the greatness, the goodness, and
the justice of the Creator, and the sacred, unchanging nature of His law.
God Himself had established the order of heaven; and in departing from
it, Lucifer would dishonor his Maker, and bring ruin upon himself. But
the warning, given in infinite love and mercy, only aroused a spirit of
resistance.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 494, 495.
What lessons can you draw about God’s character in His dealing
with evil?
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M onday April 1
(page 8 of Standard Edition)
Lucifer Deceives; Christ Prevails
There is no logical explanation for why Lucifer, this perfect angel,
should have allowed pride and jealousy to take root in his heart and
grow into rebellion against his Creator. Satan’s pride ripened into open
rebellion. He accused God of being unjust and unfair. He infected the
angels with his doubts and accusations.
Read Revelation 12:4. What does this passage reveal about Satan’s ability to deceive? How many of the angels fell for his lies about God?
When war broke out in heaven, the angels had to decide—would they
follow Jesus or Lucifer? What was the nature of this war in heaven?
Was it a physical war, or a war of ideas, or both? We don’t know the
details, but the conflict was physical enough that Satan and his angels
eventually were “cast out,” and a place was not “found for them in
heaven any longer” (Rev. 12:8, 9, NKJV). This war obviously includes
some kind of physical element.
One thing is certain about the war in heaven. Every angel had to
decide for or against Christ. Whom would they follow? Whose voice
would they listen to? The loyal angels chose to be obedient to Christ’s
loving commands, while one-third of the angels listened to the voice of
Lucifer, disobeyed God, and lost heaven. We, too, in this critical time
of earth’s history, are called to decide for or against Christ. We, too, are
to declare whose side we are on—Christ’s or Satan’s.
Read Genesis 2:15–17, Exodus 32:26, Joshua 24:15, 1 Kings 18:20,
21, and Revelation 22:17. What fundamental principle in the great
controversy do these verses teach us?
When God created humanity, He embedded deep within our brains the
ability to think, to reason, and to choose. The essence of our humanness is
our ability to make moral choices. We are not mere robots. We were created
in God’s image, distinct from the animal creation, in our ability to make
moral choices and live by eternal spiritual principles. After Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven, and after the Fall, God has called His people to respond
to His love and be obedient to His commands by choosing to serve Him.
What lessons can we learn from the battle in heaven that relates
to our own personal battle with evil? If Satan was able to deceive
these righteous, holy heavenly beings, what does this say about
his evil attempts to deceive us?
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T uesday April 2
(page 9 of Standard Edition)
Planet Earth Becomes Involved
When God created the earth, He created it perfect. The Bible says that
He “saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Gen.
1:31, NKJV). There was no stain of sin or evil anywhere. But He gave
Adam and Eve the same freedom of choice He had given to Lucifer. He
didn’t want robots on earth any more than He wanted robots in heaven.
In fact, He went out of His way to make this freedom clear. He
planted a tree in the Garden and called it the tree of knowledge of good
and evil. He made a point of telling Adam and Eve about it because He
wanted to make sure they knew they had a choice.
Satan came to the tree, and as Eve lingered there, he told her: “ ‘You
will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil’ ” (Gen. 3:4, 5, NKJV). In other words, if you eat of this tree, you
will enter a new sphere of existence. You will have excitement. You
will have a thrill that you’ve never known before. Eve, God is keeping
something from you. Here, take the forbidden fruit and eat it.
When Eve and later Adam made that choice, they opened a door that
God wanted to keep forever closed. It was the doorway to sin—the
doorway to suffering, heartache, sickness, and death.
Read Genesis 3:1–3 with Romans 3:23 and Romans 5:12. What do
these texts have in common? Describe the ultimate results of sin
that plague the entire human race.
At its very core, sin is rebellion against God. Sin separates us from
God. Since God is the Source of life, separation from God leads to
death. It also leads to worry, anxiety, sickness, and disease. The suffering in our world is ultimately the result of living on a sin-ravaged
planet. This certainly does not mean that every time we suffer, we have
sinned. It does mean that every one of us is affected by living on this
planet.
Read Genesis 3:15; Leviticus 5:5, 6; and John 1:29. What promise did God give Adam and Eve in the Garden after they sinned
that would give them hope in their despair? What service did
God initiate in Eden that would point them forward through the
centuries to the solution to the sin problem?
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W ednesday April 3
(page 10 of Standard Edition)
Love Finds a Way
Adam and Eve have sinned, and God has told them that they must leave
their garden home. From now on, toil and suffering will be their lot. Will they
have to suffer and finally die with no hope? Is death the end of everything?
It was at this point that God gave them the promise recorded in
Genesis 3:15. Looking directly at Satan, the serpent, He said: “ ‘I will
put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and
her Seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel’ ”
(NKJV). They may not have fully understood at that moment exactly
what this meant, but they knew they could hope again. In some way,
through the “Seed of the woman,” their redemption would come.
The “Seed of the woman,” of course, is Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16). At
the cross, Satan bruised His heel. But Jesus’ victory is our guarantee
that one day the serpent’s head will be crushed. The door of suffering
and death that Adam and Eve opened will one day be closed.
Read Hebrews 2:9, Galatians 3:13, and 2 Corinthians 5:21. What do these
verses tell us about the immensity of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross?
Do you ever wonder if God really loves you? Look at the Cross—look
at the crown of thorns, look at the nails in His hands and feet. With every
drop of blood that Jesus shed on Calvary, God is saying, “I love you. I do
not want to be in heaven without you. Yes, you’ve sinned; you sold yourself
into the hand of the enemy; yes, in and of yourself you are unworthy of
eternal life. But I’ve paid the ransom to get you back.” When you look at
the Cross, you never have to wonder again if you’re loved.
The Bible speaks of a Jesus who came to this world and experienced
heartache, disappointment, and pain in common with all humanity. It
reveals a Christ who faced the same temptations we face—a Christ who
triumphed over the principalities and powers of hell both in His life
and through His death on the cross—all for each one of us, personally.
Think about it: Jesus, the One who created the cosmos (see John 1:3),
stepped down from heaven and not only came into this fallen world but
suffered in it in ways none of us ever will (see Isa. 53:1–5). And He did
it because He loved us—each of us. What a powerful reason to hope!
How did Christ answer Satan’s charges on the cross? In the light
of the great controversy between good and evil, what did His
death accomplish?
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T hursday April 4
(page 11 of Standard Edition)
Our High Priest
What Jesus did for us on the cross enables Him also to intercede for
us in heaven. Our resurrected Lord is our great High Priest, providing
everything we need to be saved and to live in God’s kingdom forever.
Read Hebrews 4:15, 16 and Hebrews 7:25. How do these verses give us
assurance in a world of temptation, suffering, disease, and death?
The text says that He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without
sin” (Heb. 4:15, NKJV). And it adds, “Let us therefore come boldly”—that
means confidently—“to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16, NKJV).
To state it very simply, Jesus presents us before the universe as
clothed in His righteousness, saved by His death, and redeemed
through His blood. Everything we should have been, He was. In Christ
there is no condemnation for the sins of our past. In Christ our guilt is
gone, and through His mighty intercession, the grip of sin on our lives
is broken. The chains that bind us are loosed, and we are free.
Read John 17:24–26. What is Christ’s longing desire in the great controversy between good and evil?
“When the great sacrifice had been consummated, Christ ascended on
high, refusing the adoration of angels until He had presented the request:
‘I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I
am.’ John 17:24. Then with inexpressible love and power came forth
the answer from the Father’s throne: ‘Let all the angels of God worship
Him.’ Hebrews 1:6. Not a stain rested upon Jesus. His humiliation ended,
His sacrifice completed, there was given unto Him a name that is above
every name.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 501, 502.
Jesus wants more than anything else for us to be with Him in heaven.
The desire of His heart, the reason for His death and intercession, is to
save us. Do you have a special need in your life? Tell it to Jesus. Where
there is sorrow, He brings comfort. Where there is fear, He brings peace.
Where there is guilt, He brings forgiveness. Where there is weakness, He
brings strength.
Why do you think Christ sacrificed Himself for us? What makes
us so valuable to Him?
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F riday April 5
(page 12 of Standard Edition)
Further Thought: “In the banishment of Satan from heaven, God
declared His justice and maintained the honor of His throne. But when man
had sinned through yielding to the deceptions of this apostate spirit, God
gave an evidence of His love by yielding up His only-begotten Son to die for
the fallen race. In the atonement the character of God is revealed. The mighty
argument of the cross demonstrates to the whole universe that the course of
sin which Lucifer had chosen was in no wise chargeable upon the government of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 500, 501.
“The cross of Calvary, while it declares the law immutable, proclaims
to the universe that the wages of sin is death. In the Saviour’s expiring
cry, ‘It is finished,’ the death knell of Satan was rung. The great controversy which had been so long in progress was then decided, and the final
eradication of evil was made certain. The Son of God passed through the
portals of the tomb, that ‘through death He might destroy him that had
the power of death, that is, the devil.’ Hebrews 2:14.”—Ellen G. White,
The Great Controversy, p. 503.
Discussion Questions:
Ê If God knew that Lucifer was going to rebel, why did He give him
the power of choice in the first place? Or when Lucifer rebelled, why
didn’t God just annihilate him immediately? What kind of reaction
might the unfallen universe have had if God had immediately wiped
Lucifer out? Why is the concept of the universe’s interest in the plan
of salvation (1 Pet. 1:12, Rev. 5:13, Rev. 16:7) so important to understanding the great controversy?
Ë What reason or reasons can you think of for Christ’s death on
the cross? Was it only to reveal the character of God? Was it to pay
the ransom price for sin? If so, to whom was the ransom paid?
Share your thoughts and give biblical reasons for them.
Ì When we use the term “the great controversy,” what do we
mean? Discuss the various aspects of the great controversy and
how this week’s lesson applies to your own life.
Í What Bible texts talk about the reality of the great controversy? (See, for instance, Job 1, 2; Eph. 6:12.)
Î How is the Seventh-day Adventist understanding unique
among other Christian denominations? What is it in this great
controversy theme that sets Adventists apart?
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Story
i n s i d e
Volcano, Fires, and COVID-19
By Andrew McChesney
Cuban missionary Misael Delgado Rodríguez faced a major challenge on
his first Sabbath in the Canary Islands. Only five people came to worship.
Misael dove into mission outreach work, visiting former church members
and others on La Palma island. A month later, he rejoiced with a first baptism.
But then COVID-19 suspended outreach efforts, and his problems seemed to
multiply. A fire broke out in the north of the island, leaving some members
without homes. Then a fire broke out in the south. Then a volcano erupted for
85 days, leaving islanders grappling with earthquakes, toxic gas, and ashes.
Two church families lost everything.
Amid the storms, something amazing happened. Faith blossomed. Three
years after Misael’s arrival, 45 people were regularly worshipping on Sabbath.
In addition, seven people had been baptized, five were preparing for baptism,
and 15 were taking Bible studies. What happened?
Misael said intercessory prayer was key. “We pray every day at 7 a.m.,
2 p.m., and 9 p.m.,” he said. “Each member prays for five people.”
Each church department also embraced practical evangelism. One project, an initiative of the Spanish Union of Churches Conference, saw church
members calling contacts over the phone and offering Ellen White’s Steps to
Christ and related Bible studies. Other projects included educational courses
on the church’s Facebook page aimed at the needs of families, young people,
and little children; musical evangelism in which Adventist young people held
mini-concerts on the street or while visiting the sick and needy; a program
with ADRA in which members handed out cards that could be presented for
food in supermarkets; health presentations; Bible studies; and the distribution
of The Desire of Ages and other books. On holidays, such as Mother’s Day,
church members placed a special card inside each book.
The church also opened a discipleship school where laypeople could learn
how to evangelize, and four small groups were meeting regularly in homes.
Friendship evangelism has proven very successful, Misael said. While the
volcano was erupting, church members spent two months passing out masks
and literature with health information related to volcanoes. “That way the
church became well known,” Misael said. Indeed, many of the 15 people taking Bible studies lost everything in the volcano, and they have acknowledged
that the crisis led them to God, he said. “Otherwise, they would not have been
interested in learning about God,” he said.
Misael looks back at his experience in the Canary Islands with joy. “The
beginning was very difficult,” he said. “We have been through a lot. But the
results are very satisfying. We have seen how God has blessed us.”
Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help spread the gospel in the
Canary Islands and around the world.
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Provided by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission, which uses Sabbath School
mission offerings to spread the gospel worldwide. Read new stories daily at AdventistMission.org.
teachers comments
Part I: Overview
Key Text: Revelation 12:7, 8
Study Focus: Rev. 12:7–9, Col. 1:16, Ezek. 28:12–15, Isa. 14:12–
14, John 17:24, Gen. 3:15.
Introduction: This week’s lesson introduces the topic of the cosmic conflict, or the great controversy, between Christ and Satan. We shall begin
our study by examining both the origin of evil and God’s solution to
humanity’s fall into sin.
Several aspects of the cosmic conflict merit our consideration. First, the
great controversy is not perpetual; it originated in heaven when Lucifer,
a created being, headed a band of rebel angels who challenged God, the
eternal Creator and King of all beings. Thus, we can surmise that if evil
and the devil had a beginning, they will certainly have an end.
Second, the cosmic conflict shows the radical incompatibility of good
with evil. Neither party can coexist with, or tolerate, the other: each group
yearns for the extinction of the other. When evil came into existence, it
challenged the very idea of God’s right to exist and rule, notwithstanding
the eternal nature of God.
Further, the great controversy eliminates any form of philosophical or
religious dualism in which both evil and good are coeternal, coequal, and
necessary. The biblical worldview clearly excludes the necessity of evil.
We do not need evil in order to know and appreciate what is good. Nor is
evil necessary to increase good.
Third, the fact that evil and the great controversy originated in heaven
arouses in the minds of rational and free moral agencies the notion that the
conflict is primarily spiritual in nature and must, therefore, have a spiritual
solution. While evil arose without any contribution from God (in fact, evil
rose against God), it cannot be extinguished from existence without God.
By its nature, evil damages beings and the universe fatally. Thus, only God
and His supernatural, creative power can exterminate evil altogether and
remove its catastrophic consequences.
For this reason, God’s plan of salvation does not consist in simply
identifying, acknowledging, shaming, or punishing the originators of
evil. Such measures are neither efficient nor sufficient in exterminating
evil from the universe. Rather, God solves the sin problem by taking the
consequences of sin upon Himself, in Christ. By His creative power, God
actively engages in the destruction of evil and the cleansing and restoration of the universe.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson highlights three major themes:
1. Evil and the cosmic conflict originated in a perfect heaven. They then
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teachers comments
spread to earth, taking root in the hearts and minds of free moral
agents, who were created in the image of God.
2. Sin and evil became manifest as rebellion against God.
3. The only way to salvation, and to the end of the cosmic conflict, is
through the Cross and through the mediation of Christ and His creative, restorative power.
Part II: Commentary
The Adventist Understanding of the Great Controversy. Seventh-day
Adventists have a unique understanding of the origin of sin and the solution thereof. Unlike other Christians, Adventists do not have a fundamental belief dedicated to the doctrine of sin. However, they integrate their
understanding of sin within the framework of the great controversy. John
M. Fowler correctly points out that “no doctrine of sin can be complete
without an understanding of this great controversy theme between Christ
and Satan, between good and evil. The sovereignty and character of God
are at its center. When Lucifer caused the revolt in heaven against God
. . . and when the revolt reached its climax, God had no alternative except
to cast the fallen angelic host from heaven.”—John M. Fowler, “Sin,”
in Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, ed. Raoul Dederen
(Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2000), p. 241.
While other Christians also believe in the fall of Lucifer and of
Adam and, to some extent, the cosmic conflict between God and Satan,
Adventists have articulated these concepts in the form of a unique doctrine, encapsulated in fundamental belief 8:
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All humanity is now involved in a great controversy between
Christ and Satan regarding the character of God, His law, and His
sovereignty over the universe. This conflict originated in heaven
when a created being, endowed with freedom of choice, in selfexaltation became Satan, God’s adversary, and led into rebellion
a portion of the angels. He introduced the spirit of rebellion into
this world when he led Adam and Eve into sin. This human sin
resulted in the distortion of the image of God in humanity, the disordering of the created world, and its eventual devastation at the
time of the global flood, as presented in the historical account of
Genesis 1–11. Observed by the whole creation, this world became
the arena of the universal conflict, out of which the God of love
will ultimately be vindicated. To assist His people in this controversy, Christ sends the Holy Spirit and the loyal angels to guide,
protect, and sustain them in the way of salvation.—Fundamental
Belief 8, “The Great Controversy,” https://www.adventist.org/the
-great-controversy/.
teachers comments
The biblical teaching of humanity’s fall into sin is also present in fundamental belief 7:
Man and woman were made in the image of God with individuality, the power and freedom to think and to do. Though created
free beings, each is an indivisible unity of body, mind, and spirit,
dependent upon God for life and breath and all else. When our
first parents disobeyed God, they denied their dependence upon
Him and fell from their high position. The image of God in them
was marred and they became subject to death. Their descendants
share this fallen nature and its consequences. They are born with
weaknesses and tendencies to evil. But God in Christ reconciled
the world to Himself and by His Spirit restores in penitent mortals
the image of their Maker. Created for the glory of God, they are
called to love Him and one another, and to care for their environment.—Fundamental belief 7, “Nature of Humanity,” https://
www.adventist.org/nature-of-humanity/.
Two additional aspects of the Adventist doctrine of the great controversy deserve our consideration: (1) the origin of the great controversy
theme and (2) its historicity.
First, the great controversy theme springs out of Scripture and lies at
the very foundation of the Adventist biblical interpretation and doctrinal
development. Commenting on biblical interpretation, Ellen G. White
notes:
The Bible is its own expositor. Scripture is to be compared with
scripture. The student should learn to view the word as a whole,
and to see the relation of its parts. He should gain a knowledge of
its grand central theme, of God’s original purpose for the world, of
the rise of the great controversy, and of the work of redemption.
He should understand the nature of the two principles that are
contending for supremacy, and should learn to trace their working
through the records of history and prophecy, to the great consummation. He should see how this controversy enters into every phase
of human experience; how in every act of life he himself reveals
the one or the other of the two antagonistic motives; and how,
whether he will or not, he is even now deciding upon which side of
the controversy he will be found.—Ellen G. White, Education, p.
190, emphasis supplied.
As a result of this biblical approach to interpretation, the great controversy theme is interwoven into all other biblical doctrines of Adventist theology. The integration of the great controversy theme into Adventist theology commences with the doctrine of God, with the very essence of His
nature as free, loving, gracious, righteous, just, and faithful. Throughout
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teachers comments
Scripture, the great controversy theme continues to be interwoven with the
following doctrines:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The teaching of Creation as an expression of God’s love, freedom, and
power
The origin of human nature, its present condition, and its final destiny
The fall of humanity from its original righteousness and communion
with God
God’s actions of salvation, as manifested in the incarnation, ministry,
death, resurrection, ascension, and mediatorial ministry of Christ in
the heavenly sanctuary, as well as in His second coming
God’s redemptive plan of justification, sanctification, and the promise
of future glorification for the human race
God’s constitution of His people throughout all periods of human
history, culminating in the calling out of an end-time remnant from
among the Protestant churches to proclaim His final invitation of
mercy to humanity
The pre-Advent, millennial, and executive judgments of God, climaxing in the end of evil and in the restoration of all things
Second, the great controversy is historical in nature. Because traditional
Christianity integrated Greek philosophical presuppositions and concepts,
such as the immaterial, timeless, spaceless nature of heaven, many Christians
interpret biblical references to the cosmic conflict and of the fall of humans
into sin, as allegories or theological myths. However, the Adventist historicalgrammatical interpretation of the Bible presents God as personally and historically involved in the history of humanity’s fall into sin and in the history
of salvation. God, Lucifer, the angels—both rebellious and righteous—Adam
and Eve, and their fall into sin are all real historical characters and events.
Jesus referred to Satan as a literal, historical person, one whom Jesus knew
from before the start of this earth’s history, and who was the originator of
evil and sin. Jesus once explained to the Pharisees that they were neither the
children of Abraham (John 8:39, 40) nor the children of God (John 8:41,
42), but rather were of their father “the devil” who “was a murderer from the
beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies,
he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John
8:44, NIV).
John the revelator also depicts both the devil and the cosmic conflict that
he instigated as historical. Following the example of Jesus, John represents the
devil as “the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the
whole world” (Rev 12:7–9, NASB), as the one who is the originator of the war,
evil, and deception, both in heaven and on earth. The immediate context of
Revelation 12:7–9 suggests that the apostle John considered both the devil and
the cosmic conflict as an historical entity and event, respectively: as historical
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teachers comments
as God Himself (Rev. 12:5, 6, 10, 17), as historical as the birth and ascension of Jesus (Rev. 12:5), as historical as the existence of the church and the
persecutions against it (Rev. 12:1, 6, 11, 13–15), and as historical as the cross
of Jesus through whose blood we are saved (Rev. 12:11). While we do not
know when this cosmic conflict in heaven took place, we believe that it can
be dated “before the creation of Adam and Eve and that it was as historical as
humanity’s fall into sin at the instigation of the same Satan.”—Handbook of
Seventh-day Adventist Theology, pp. 241, 242.
Part III: Life Application
Discuss the following questions in class with your students.
1. What do people in your culture think of the apparent existence of
the conflict between good and evil, both in our world and in human
society? How do they understand the origin of evil? Do they believe
evil will ever end? Why, or why not? Have they already given up on
any hope for the termination of evil? If so, why? Perhaps they think
evil is here to stay, or is even necessary to keep some sort of balance
in the universe and in history. If so, explain why they may feel this
way. How can you share with them the biblical perspective on evil?
2. In what way do the various theories about the origin of the conflict
between good and evil affect the understanding of human morality and responsibility? Take, for instance, the theory of evolution.
How does this theory impact our understanding of the origin of
evil and, consequently, our understanding of human morality?
What other theories regarding the origin of evil can you think of,
besides evolution, that are prevalent in your culture?
3. Think of ways to describe and explain to the people around you
the Adventist doctrine of the origin of evil, of the great controversy,
and of the biblical hope. How can you share these Bible truths
with your friends, neighbors, and colleagues from other Christian
denominations or from other religions, philosophies, or worldviews? What elements would you include in the outline of your
description of the great controversy?
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